Classic Reunions…Rage Against The Machine

***Part five of a five-part series I am doing this week on Classic Reunions. Each day I will add a new photo of a featured artist and that band’s classic reunion.
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I was completely blown away the first time I saw and heard Rage Against The Machine. They sounded like no other band and they had the explosive energy of a Saturn 5 Rocket. Zack de la Rocha’s departure in 2000 from the band was and wasn’t surprising. Tensions had been rising within the band for the last few years and the decision making and creative process was rotting away.

Once the band was officially over, there were countless offers – huge offers – for a reunion…the demand was always there. But the band shrugged off every offer. Zach attempted to form a few urban-rock super-groups but quickly dismissed those to record an album with Trent Reznor. The world is still waiting to hear that one. The three remaining members of Rage joined forces with Chris Cornell to form critically acclaimed Audioslave. Still, the offers for a reunion poured in. And still, all four members passed on them all. Until…

The 2007 Coachella Festival in the California desert. Perhaps it was the fact that Audioslave had just fallen apart, perhaps Zach couldn’t find the right band for him, perhaps they had a new political message to voice. Who knows? Whatever the reason, all four members agreed to do it. The reunited Rage Against The Machine made no promises about the future of the band. A new album? A new tour? We are still waiting to see. The success of the Coachella reunion sprang them onto the 2007 Rock The Bells Tour, headlining over Public Enemy, The Wu Tang Clan, and many more.

Is Rage here to stay? I’m not sure. But they picked up right where they left off, the magic and the fury is still there.

Photographed in a political rage with a Canon 5D and a Canon 24mm-70mm lens